Dedication Details

Details from photos taken at the opening of the San Jacinto Monument, April 20 and 21, 1939, provide a light-hearted insight into the period. Click on the individual images to choose to enlarge for a closer view.

A variety of automobiles were used to transport people to the opening events. Although sleeker late-model cars were present in numbers, a few boxier cars from the late 1920s were also driven. The 1930s saw the first tilted windshields, extended front hoods, lower bodies without running boards, integrated fenders, and curved backs.

Some people clearly arrived at the San Jacinto Monument on bicycles on the opening day.

The U.S.S. Wichita, a new heavy cruiser commissioned in February of 1939 and on her first cruise, participated in the ceremony by formally saluting while passing the San Jacinto Monument on its opening day.

The Navy was not the only uniformed service present at the dedication. From the State Highway officers who brought the Governor, to the Houston Police who patrolled the area, to the Boy Scouts who served as ushers and handed out programs, to the City of Houston Fire Department officers who served as security guards in the galleries, many uniforms were present.

This food vendor sold a popular treat of the day - the Fudgicle, a precursor to today's Fudgcicle, a registered trademark of Unilever, who makes Popcicles.

Coca-Cola was a popular drink in 1939, and could be purchased at the concession stand set up for the opening of the Monument.

This detail of a worker leaning on a shovel is from a photo taken on the morning of April 20, 1939, as George A. Hill arrived at the park to start the opening ceremony for the museum. It demonstrates that work on the landscaping was still under way when the museum opened.

Like many restaurants of its time, the San Jacinto Inn had hooks for men to hang their hats while they ate. More formal restaurants would allow men to check their hats when they arrived. Ladies could properly keep their hats on while indoors.

Adult males wore hats when outdoors in public.

A variety of men's hat styles were present, from Houston Mayor Oscar Holcombe's straw boater, to Gov. O'Daniel's fedora, to the top hats and Balmoral caps of some of the foreign guests.

Ladies' headgear was in even wider variety.

Teens and children did not necessarily wear hats.

Looking closely at the photographs, houses near the Battleground are visible.

This house along the reflection pool was probably used by the assistant park superintendant.

Photos of the empty building, before the exhibits were installed, show that ceiling lighting was provided only by skylights, and artificial lighting was from floor torchieres.

Invited guests who were seated on the podium dressed for the occasion.

Many of the ladies seated on the podium wore corsages.

The proper handbag and jewelry was as important as the hat.

Most adult males wore a necktie, but in a variety of styles and widths.

Visitors not seated on the platform dressed more informally.

One V-shaped patch pocket helds a dark hanky and a heart-shaped pendant hung from a chain around the young woman's neck.

The young man in the center wore a dark satin shirt.

A few of the more formally dressed men and women wore gloves, and there was a wide variety of shoe styles.

Eyeglass styles included everything from monocles to bifocals. Mass-produced sunglasses were first sold in the U.S. in 1929, and by 1938 they had become fashionable not just for beach and resort wear, but for general wear. Over 20 million pairs sold in the U.S. in 1937, with a U.S. population of 128.8 million.

Children who visited the monument during its two-day opening wore a variety of styles of clothing. The photos show only one female (other than those girls playing in the marching band) wearing trousers, shown in the lower left.

These men took some time out during the ceremony to throw and catch among the newly-planted circle around the monument.

Although some men seated on the platform smoked cigarettes, there are no photographs from the dedication showing women smoking. In the 1930s, the relationship between smoking tobacco and lung cancer was not yet known.

Ike Moore with a reproduction of the San Jacinto Battle flag at the dedication of the San Jacinto Museum of History. The painted image on this flag differed in line and angle from the original flag, at the Texas State Capitol.

The only animals shown in the dedication photographs are three horses, two seen here ridden by J. W. E. Airey and a member of the Coushatta tribe.